No LSU athletes recorded automatic qualifying times last weekend for the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships. But one team may have done just enough to help its case.The men’s 4×400-meter relay team dramatically improved its chances by surpassing its previous season-best time of 3 minutes, 9.58 seconds by more than two seconds with a time of 3 minutes, 7.29 seconds. LSU had two final chances to add more qualifiers by participating in the LSU Invitational at home Friday and in the Cyclone National Qualifier in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday.The men’s new 4×400-meter time put it No. 9 nationally, which may be good enough to put them into the Indoor Championships.The team consisted of junior Armanti Hayes, sophomore Jamar Howard, freshmen Ade Alleyne-Forte and Robert Simmons. LSU sophomore Richard Jones recorded an indoor personal-best time of one minute, 49.66 seconds in the 800-meter run.Those with provisional marks won’t necessarily make it to the NCAA Indoor Championships. It is usually only the top 14-15 athletes who will actually make the competition. Friday’s LSU Invitational also marked former LSU Olympic sprinter Richard Thompson’s first meet of the year after suffering minor injuries in a car crash in his native Trinidad and Tobago on New Year’s Day.”I’m so pleased with my time, because I had some major setbacks coming into competition this year.” Thompson said.He won the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.61 seconds.LSU travels to College Station, Texas, next weekend for the NCAA Indoor Championships on Friday and Saturday.——Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]